Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

107: The Tang Dynasty's border troops fought to the death, refusing to retreat.

Just as Zhang Xizhou had completely subdued Kang Li, a man behind him suddenly swung a spiked club and struck Kang Li hard in the back, causing Kang Li to vomit blood with a single blow.

Zhang Xizhou gripped the knife with both hands and slashed it off, severing Kang Li's left hand on the spot. Kang Li, in pain, gritted his teeth and raised his spear to stab Zhang Xizhou. Seeing this, a man behind him did not hesitate for a moment, wielding a long-handled axe and cutting Kang Li in half at the waist.

Kang Li collapsed to the ground, still muttering, "Kill the enemy!"

Zhang Xizhou said, "Quickly put on your armor and get your weapons. Follow me to take down the city gate. When our great cause is accomplished, you will all be marquises!"

Upon hearing this, the members of the Lotus Sect rushed towards the military camp. The remaining few fought to the death until none of them survived.

......

At this moment, Su Wen and Xu Ge had arrived at the outer city gate, where more than a hundred soldiers were lined up and waiting. Inside the city, flames could be seen everywhere, as the Lotus Cult members had begun burning and killing, attempting to incite unrest.

Those who volunteered to defend the city were engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy, armed with a range of agricultural weapons such as kitchen knives, axes, and hoes.

Many civilians were killed. At this moment, at the inner city gate, Xiao Bi and a group of more than a hundred civilians were standing guard at the gate. Xiao Bi stood quietly in front of all the civilians, holding a Mo Dao.

Cui Lingyu, dressed in women's armor and holding a long spear, stood atop the city gate, staring expressionlessly at the street.

Before long, a large group of Lotus Cult members carrying swords and knives appeared on the street, numbering at least several hundred.

Cui Lingyu hadn't expected that even after the notices were posted, the Lotus Sect still had a large following. At that moment, a judicial official below the city pointed at the Lotus Sect members and shouted, "There are a lot of prisoners among them!"

This was something Cui Lingyu hadn't expected.

The Lotus Cult members stopped when they were less than ten meters away from Xiao Bi. The leader was a bald monk holding a staff. He saw a woman wearing armor and holding a long sword standing not far in front of him.

He couldn't help but laugh and said, "The Tang Dynasty really has no one left, resorting to a woman to defend it. Young lady, I see you are quite beautiful, why don't you surrender? When I become a high-ranking official, I'll take you as my concubine, how about that?"

Xiao Bi spat and shouted, "I am Cui Bi, a halberd-wielding captain from the Cui family of Boling, the eldest daughter of Cui Lingyu. If you don't want to die, submit to my execution now, or you will all become my souls beneath my Mo Dao today!"

The monk sneered, raised his staff, and charged towards Cui Bi. Cui Bi's expression changed. He kicked the hilt of his sword, dragging the sword on the ground, and moved with lightning speed, directly charging towards the monk while dragging the sword.

When he was less than two meters away from the monk, he swung his sword with one hand and cleaved Mount Hua in two.

The monk hurriedly raised his staff to parry, but the single blow, with the force of an ox, caused the monk's hands to split open and tremble slightly. Xiao Bi, holding the knife with both hands, released it and smoothed it with the staff. Seeing this, the monk quickly released his hands and dodged the attack!

But the monk's staff also fell to the ground. Seeing this, the monk was greatly shocked and shouted, "Kill them, and you'll be granted the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households!"

Upon hearing this, all the Lotus Cult members roared and charged towards Xiao Bi.

Xiao Bi then swung her sword back, twirling it around her body like flowers, before swinging it with both hands and sweeping across the battlefield.

The swordsman could use his whole body and mobilize all his strength to wield the sword with a single swing, cutting several people in half at the waist. After all, they were all unarmored and had no chance against the wide, sweeping movements of the sword, which was made of short weapons. They were like lambs to the slaughter.

But these Lotus followers seemed unafraid of death, charging straight at Cui Bi with knives, attempting to overwhelm her with sheer numbers.

However, Cui Bi, who had practiced martial arts since childhood, was not someone this rabble could withstand. In an instant, they were locked in a fierce battle. With a single strike, the Mo Dao would cleave the opponent in two. In particular, Cui Bi used the strength of her waist to spin the Mo Dao and swing it out like a killing star, leaving the Lotus Sect members completely defenseless.

At this moment, from among the crowd of people, the captain shouted, "Defend the Tang Dynasty! Defend Dunhuang! Kill!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the captain charged forward, and a large number of civilians followed suit.

The two sides immediately clashed, while the monk, standing to one side, sensed danger and tried to flee.

At this moment, Cui Lingyu, standing on the city gate, drew his bow, aimed, and shot without the slightest hesitation.

The arrow cut through the wind like a meteor, instantly piercing the monk's chest, causing him to fall to the ground after taking two steps!

Meanwhile, outside the city, Zhang Yi was still dozens of miles away from Dunhuang, but situated on a vast plain. Everyone saw that Dunhuang was engulfed in flames and immediately sensed something was wrong. They shouted, "All troops, quicken your pace! There must be a fierce battle inside the city! Hurry!"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers shouted loudly, and their warhorses galloped away, for their families and loved ones were all in Dunhuang.

The soldiers, who had originally planned to rest, were now like wild beasts that had gone mad, each one faster than the last, like a horse race racing against time!

At the outer city gate.

At this moment, all the soldiers were lined up, because Zhang Xizhou had led over a hundred heavily armored men and several hundred unarmored men to the military road leading to the city gate.

Among this group were dozens of heavily armored cavalrymen. Upon seeing the cavalry, Su Wen frowned, clenched his fists, and his palms were sweating.

Xu Ge, however, was not afraid. He stood at the front of the army formation, wearing armor and holding a long spear.

Su Wen, atop the city wall, was quite shocked to see that the leader was Zhang Xizhou. He shouted, "Zhang Xizhou, you are Yi Tian?"

"Hmph!" Zhang Xizhou sneered, "You should have died long ago, I should have killed you long ago, but now it doesn't matter anymore. Anyway, in a little while, I'll use your head as a sacrifice!"

Without uttering a single wasted word, Zhang Xizhou roared, "Kill them!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone charged towards Xu Ge. The cavalry and those in heavy armor did not move, but stayed in place, waiting for an opportunity.

Xu Ge raised his spear and shouted, "Military formation!"

As soon as the words were spoken, all the soldiers shouted in unison, "Kill!"

Zhang Xizhou was surprised that Xu Ge could command these soldiers. When Xu Ge saw the enemy rushing towards him, he sneered and slowly entered the army formation.

The first row of swordsmen and shieldmen had all raised their shields, and the two rows behind them had also raised their shields, forming a shield wall. The ten-foot-long spears were now all extended into the gaps between the shields.

This was a military formation. Zhang Xizhou's men had never been trained in military formations and swarmed in like wild beasts.

When they were about twenty paces apart, Xu Ge shouted, "Release the arrows!"

The shield wall suddenly disbanded, and everyone crouched down instantly. The crossbowmen who had been hiding in the crowd stood up, pulled the triggers on their crossbows, and the arrows shot out. The enemy soldiers were pierced through the body by the crossbow bolts and fell down one after another.

After the first row of crossbowmen fired their bolts, they immediately crouched down. The second row stood up and fired, then crouched down again. The third row fired and crouched down, and then the first row stood up again.

With such a barrage of crossbow bolts, the enemy couldn't even get within ten paces!